A hoax bomb left on the doorstep on an Orange hall in Co Fermanagh has been condemned.

It is understood that a lodge member at Wattlebridge Orange Hall discovered the cardboard box on the doorstep of the hall on Friday afternoon before police cordoned off the area into Saturday afternoon.

MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Tom Elliott, told Belfast Live: “The people who are doing it just want to intimidate and make a statement that they’re still there.”

County Grand Master of County Fermanagh Grand Orange Lodge, Stuart Brooker, accused the perpetrators of attempting to “intimidate” the local Protestant community.

He said: “Lodge members feel extremely hurt to be targeted in such a malicious fashion.

"They have been through all of this before during the height of the Troubles and were convinced such delinquency was wedded to the past.

"Regrettably, it would seem there remains a minority intent on causing disturbance and division.

“The Orange hall is relatively isolated and so therefore is deemed an easy target for such criminality.

"Those who skulk in the darkness and engage in such underhand activity fail to understand that the property is a vital social facility in the border area, and is utilised by a number of groups.

“The lodge membership reside on both sides of the border and are fully integrated in the local community. The vast majority of whom would quite rightly condemn such reckless behaviour in their locality and any attempt to damage community relations.

“Despite this incident, the Orange Institution in Co Fermanagh remains committed to playing a constructive role to ensure a truly shared future prevails for all traditions.”